I've worked like a dog, my entire adult life - I have managed to keep my head above water, but just barely - despite living near the poverty line, I have NEVER resented other people's wealth, and I have NEVER received a paycheck from another struggling worker, only from 'rich' people - POOR PEOPLE, MINORITIES, AND BLEEDING HEARTS don't have what it takes to create jobs !- GIVE ME A FILTHY-RICH REPUBLICAN BUSINESS OWNER TO WORK FOR !, AT LEAST HIS CHECKS WON'T BOUNCE !

The truth is that in this nation we need to be more concerned with the boat and less concerned with the passengers ... the boat floats or sinks for everybody, not just the few or the many. At what point do we get realistic and ask ourselves if what the GOP currently stands for is not treasonous? Those are BIG words - but when the more "conservative" thinking folks are so willing to sell so many out so that the rich can continue to be rich while so many more have been thrown under the bus by the system - what else can you call it. There was a recent article that showed the wealth are just as wealthy now as they were pre-recession ... I guess the recovery comes sooner for some that others ... but now, with a GOP congress flocking to DC and threaten a shut-down, you have to wonder at their motivations.

I've worked like a dog, my entire adult life - I have managed to keep my head above water, but just barely - despite living near the poverty line, I have NEVER resented other people's wealth, and I have NEVER received a paycheck from another struggling worker, only from 'rich' people - POOR PEOPLE, MINORITIES, AND BLEEDING HEARTS don't have what it takes to create jobs !- GIVE ME A FILTHY-RICH REPUBLICAN BUSINESS OWNER TO WORK FOR !, AT LEAST HIS CHECKS WON'T BOUNCE !

Please clarify your statement that you have "worked like a dog" your entire adult life. Dogs don't work. Mostly they just lie around and sleep, then wake up when it's time to eat. But if you really believe you have worked so very hard all your adult life for filthy rich Republican business owners, seems like you may have been underpaid.

As for "creating jobs," not even filthy rich Republican business owners start up a company just for the purpose of "creating jobs." They invest their money (and use a lot of other people's money at low interest rates) in sources that provide good returns for themselves. That's how they get to be filthy rich Republican business owners.

I've worked like a dog, my entire adult life - I have managed to keep my head above water, but just barely - despite living near the poverty line, I have NEVER resented other people's wealth, and I have NEVER received a paycheck from another struggling worker, only from 'rich' people - POOR PEOPLE, MINORITIES, AND BLEEDING HEARTS don't have what it takes to create jobs !- GIVE ME A FILTHY-RICH REPUBLICAN BUSINESS OWNER TO WORK FOR !, AT LEAST HIS CHECKS WON'T BOUNCE !

On behalf of those that have pocketed the difference between the value of your efforts and wages you were paid for those efforts, I say thank you ... you are just the kind of person this systems needs to continue to work well for those that have built fortunes on the sweat of others. Of course, if your efforts begin to wane in any way, or if, for any other reasons, the profits produced by your efforts begin to diminish (or cease to increase, even) you will be homeless, everything you have will be lost, and you will be marginalized. When comes that day - you better hope there are still a few "bleeding hearts" around to help you get back on your feet.

How many of you have even gotten a high school education, much less any college or trade school? How many of you have gone out of your way or put yourself at risk to start your own business? I see, all of you have computers, or access to one, and have enough sense to operate it. How many of you have cable TV, I-phones, etc? How many of you have gone for several months with a phone bill less than $25.00, or had your phone turned off because you could'nt pay the bill? How many of you have been on welfare or taken unemployment in the last decade? How many of you are waiting around right now, for "Uncle Sugar" to provide you the lifestyle you think you deserve?

A word to the wise; it's going to get a lot worse before it get's any better so if I were you, I'd spend my time learning how to take care of myself instead of whining about the folks that took advantage of all the opportunities this country has offered, to get themselves out of poverty.

p.s. Before you think I'm one of the fat cats; I've had some college, mostly night school, while working.I'm not rich because that was not my goal. I'm comfortable, don't have many of those fancy gadgets; don't spend much on outside entertainment, but have not taken a dime in welfare or unemployment, so pardon me if I'm a little short on sympathy

A few questions for Gena, Michael Hazzard, Xs N, working man, et.ell.How many of you have even gotten a high school education, much less any college or trade school? How many of you have gone out of your way or put yourself at risk to start your own business? I see, all of you have computers, or access to one, and have enough sense to operate it. How many of you have cable TV, I-phones, etc? How many of you have gone for several months with a phone bill less than $25.00, or had your phone turned off because you could'nt pay the bill? How many of you have been on welfare or taken unemployment in the last decade? How many of you are waiting around right now, for "Uncle Sugar" to provide you the lifestyle you think you deserve?A word to the wise; it's going to get a lot worse before it get's any better so if I were you, I'd spend my time learning how to take care of myself instead of whining about the folks that took advantage of all the opportunities this country has offered, to get themselves out of poverty.p.s. Before you think I'm one of the fat cats; I've had some college, mostly night school, while working.I'm not rich because that was not my goal. I'm comfortable, don't have many of those fancy gadgets; don't spend much on outside entertainment, but have not taken a dime in welfare or unemployment, so pardon me if I'm a little short on sympathy

Congratulations on your apparent self sufficiency, Questions. I, too, have never taken a dime in welfare, though I did collect unemployment for a few weeks during the Reagan recession in the '80s after the newspaper I was editing went belly up because of the damage done to the economy due to Reagan "trickle down voodoo economics" of the kind we're suffering through once more. I will never understand all the people like you, the working people who don't seem to find an inequity in a system that bails out banks, doesn't tax big bonuses to the Wall St. crooks (who you seem to think are merely showing the kind of American moxie that entitles them to lots of ill-gotten gain, and a lopsided system that benefits them hugely while neglecting the middle class and the working poor. Jobs exported, tax havens overseas, gov't subsidies for the rich in the gazillions, contracted wars fought on credit to no apparent good for the nation, an assault on unions and pay, and constant gushers of money coming through congress to reward the lobbyists who outnumber the congressmen. But despite an unequal playing field that is beginning to make the U.S. look like the Mexican system where a handful of families have everything, and control everything, guys like you still decry the money that goes to people on unemployment, the vast majority through no fault of their own, while remaining silent about the massive transfer of wealth that has occurred in this country over the last decade. Apparently you think that's all just just desserts, with "real" motivated Americans simply reaping their well earned rewards, even in spite of the gov't. It's a view I'll never understand, I'm afraid. It seems the posture of serfdom, the ingratiating praise of the biggest crooks and thieves while exhibiting disdain for people who have been swindled and victimized by them.

I hope to be rich someday. I guess I'll support the GOP, then.The Democrat's class warfare is petty and shows their desperation.

I know that the dream that people will someday be rich and then can reap all these rewards of tax breaks and sneering disdain for the poor who are farther down the ladder is one of the things that keeps so many people like you, Howard, supporting their "betters" and the breaks they get, but you're not likely to get rich in a system wired against the chance that'll ever happen. But keep supporting it, though, because you might win the lottery or something. IN the meantime, the real class warfare isn't being waged by the Democrats, nor is it petty. It's being waged very successfully by those lobbyists and those corporations who keep everything tilted so the cash flows mostly in one direction.Good luck getting rich, Howard. I hope you do, though I'd bet the equity in my house (what's left of it) that that will never happen. Meanwhile, keep siding with the powerful against the powerless. Who knows, maybe some rich guy will let you carry his golf clubs someday, and write off what he pays you for the privilege.

Jaime, have you ever considered that you, and your political ilk, are probably a huge hindrance to those who need to quit looking for that "hand out" and start preparing to take an active part in their own future?

It's people like you who preach class envy, with your "us vs. them" attitude, that guarantees a permanent underclass who believe there is nothing they can do to improve their situation. That "class envy", if and when it gets out of control, will be pretty ugly!For your information, Jaime, there are just as many rich Democrats as there are Republicans, and I have never heard of one of them who paid extra taxes, voluntarily, to help the poor. I sure don't mind helping those, who are physically or mentally incapable of helping themselves, thru no fault of their own, but that does not include those strung out on dope or those who find it easier to sit back and wait for the government to hand them a job they like, or to just give them money. Gena and Michael seem to be pretty good examples of the latter. For instance, Jaime, why are we just handing out unemployment checks when there are so many needs that these people could fill while looking for work. Consider clearing fire hazards around town, assisting the elderly, growing food for themselves and those unable to maintain a garden. And on, and on. That way, the unemployed would not loose their sense of pride and desire to be productive.

Jaime, have you ever considered that you, and your political ilk, are probably a huge hindrance to those who need to quit looking for that "hand out" and start preparing to take an active part in their own future?It's people like you who preach class envy, with your "us vs. them" attitude, that guarantees a permanent underclass who believe there is nothing they can do to improve their situation. That "class envy", if and when it gets out of control, will be pretty ugly!For your information, Jaime, there are just as many rich Democrats as there are Republicans, and I have never heard of one of them who paid extra taxes, voluntarily, to help the poor. I sure don't mind helping those, who are physically or mentally incapable of helping themselves, thru no fault of their own, but that does not include those strung out on dope or those who find it easier to sit back and wait for the government to hand them a job they like, or to just give them money. Gena and Michael seem to be pretty good examples of the latter. For instance, Jaime, why are we just handing out unemployment checks when there are so many needs that these people could fill while looking for work. Consider clearing fire hazards around town, assisting the elderly, growing food for themselves and those unable to maintain a garden. And on, and on. That way, the unemployed would not loose their sense of pride and desire to be productive.

Where are all those wealthy people whose boots you seem so willing to lick. I don't see them clearing brush, etc., even though lots of them are living on lightly taxed capital gains, money made from wealth they didn't lift a finger to earn, taxed at less than half of what a convenience store clerk makes while being denied health insurance. Most people I've met in my journey through life are looking for a handout, and would be in a sorry state if, as in Dickensian England, were dependent on the charity of the rich, that always comes with the requirement that the less fortunate debase themselves in exchange for the crumbs from the rich man's table, riches that were often provided by the sweat of the men and women who labored in that rich man's factory or field. Do you really believe, as so many of you right wingers seem to believe, that if a guy's factory is shipped overseas and he can't find work, that providing him with an unemployment check (that he's paid into) is going go make him lose all "desire to be productive"? I don't know what sorts of people you've met in your lifetime, but that view of humanity runs counter to nearly all the people Ive ever met. Sure, there are a few bottom feeders who will rip off any system, but the pittance that people at the bottom get, esp. all those undeserving hordes you see everywhere, is nothing compared to the billions upon billions swept into Goldman Sachs, Halliburton, and that handful of wealthy corporatists who have remade this nation, virtually wiping out the middle class, with the active support of people like you, who hope to be rich one day so the sneering at the less fortunate can be even more satisfying and self-congratulatory. Merry Christmas, Mr. Scrooge. Let's send these malingerers to the poor house and make 'em work for their gruel there. I'm amazed at how the country that once produced Franklin Roosevelt and JFK has become so hard-hearted, so mean spirited, callous, and subservient to a handful of corrupt business leaders adn politicians.

And Jaime,, what's wrong with carrying golf clubs; that's one of the things kid's should be doing while they are preparing to become responsible adults!

I was a caddy. I carried golf clubs as a teenager. But, if you'll reread what I wrote, I wasn't talking about kids; I was talking about all the rich guy wannabes who identify with the wealthy even while those people sneer at the subservience of their serfs. You seem to dream of an American where the rich are tended to by people who are all "kids" unless they, too, belong to the country club, or work in executive offices and not on the factory floor.

Jaime wrote: "I don't know what sorts of people you've met in your lifetime, but that view of humanity runs counter to nearly all the people Ive ever met."

In all sencerity, Jaime, maybe you are hanging with the wrong people.

I know where you stand and where you came from because you have told us.

I came from the same, basically poor (financially), family but I was taught that if I was ever to break out of that poverty, it would have to be by my own enitiative. That is the view that too many people these days have not been taught. You can bit-ch about the rich in one hand and spit in the other for the same result. I think it's fine to feel sorry that everyone isn't rich, but does your philosophy really help those who need it? You don't have to answer; I've already said all I'm going to on this subject, at this time.

A few questions for Gena, Michael Hazzard, Xs N, working man, et.ell.How many of you have even gotten a high school education, much less any college or trade school? How many of you have gone out of your way or put yourself at risk to start your own business? I see, all of you have computers, or access to one, and have enough sense to operate it. How many of you have cable TV, I-phones, etc? How many of you have gone for several months with a phone bill less than $25.00, or had your phone turned off because you could'nt pay the bill? How many of you have been on welfare or taken unemployment in the last decade? How many of you are waiting around right now, for "Uncle Sugar" to provide you the lifestyle you think you deserve?A word to the wise; it's going to get a lot worse before it get's any better so if I were you, I'd spend my time learning how to take care of myself instead of whining about the folks that took advantage of all the opportunities this country has offered, to get themselves out of poverty. p.s. Before you think I'm one of the fat cats; I've had some college, mostly night school, while working.I'm not rich because that was not my goal. I'm comfortable, don't have many of those fancy gadgets; don't spend much on outside entertainment, but have not taken a dime in welfare or unemployment, so pardon me if I'm a little short on sympathy

Never been on welfare - never been on unemploymeny, hold a BA in Business, serveral professional certifications and earned as much as $230,000 a year at my peak, but have also starved when the industry I serve has weakened. But your questions are entirely beside the point - you want to talk about economics, as if these are the foundation of existance - they are only in-so-much as those that succedd economically call the tune that everyone esle is FORCES to dance to - I have higher ideals, grander notions, and for hopeful aspirations for humanity than who makes what and how much they are paid - if you cannot relate to this than I give you my sympathies - you need them becaause you have been bought and sold, you opinions have been handed to you by those that would benefit from them.

<quoted text>Never been on welfare - never been on unemploymeny, hold a BA in Business, serveral professional certifications and earned as much as $230,000 a year at my peak, but have also starved when the industry I serve has weakened. But your questions are entirely beside the point - you want to talk about economics, as if these are the foundation of existance - they are only in-so-much as those that succedd economically call the tune that everyone esle is FORCES to dance to - I have higher ideals, grander notions, and for hopeful aspirations for humanity than who makes what and how much they are paid - if you cannot relate to this than I give you my sympathies - you need them becaause you have been bought and sold, you opinions have been handed to you by those that would benefit from them.

My opinions were handed to me by my parents, thank you; and they have worked very well for me. So, how is all that "higher ideals, grander notions, and hopeful aspirations" working for you?

I talk about economics because it IS the basis for success in calling the tune for yourself as well as others. How many poor people do you know who have the where-with-all to be philanthropic?

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